The new job FAQ

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Dan

I’ve been getting a lot of the same good questions lately, so let me see if I can answer them all here:

What is this new job? What’s your title?
The new job is community management on a large scale. Usually it’s done at the developer level; I’m going to be on the corporate level, working with a lot of developers within the Activision stable. Major Nelson was used as an example of something that works in a similar fashion– he’s really the inside guy at Microsoft, and he passes along cool info. It’s really about communication — the idea that there’s more to the company than what you hear, and they would like to find a way to tell people. So broadly, by being “the insider” at Activision talking to the gaming community, it’s community management, but I’ll be doing a lot of journalistic things — interviewing developers, writing articles about games in development, stuff like that. I’ll be blogging, podcasting, and creating videos as part of this, plus whatever else I can sneak in there — contests, puzzles, who knows what. This will be a two-way line of communication; the point is really to have a way to talk not to but with the people who are playing their games. You can see why I’m excited.

The title is being decided; “online evangelist” was suggested but probably won’t stick. (Some folks have reported that I’m moving to PR, which is technically true because I believe I will be part of that department, but I won’t be doing PR as you think of it.)

UPDATE 12/23: I believe my title is “Social Media Manager.” Sounds fancy.
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How to get rid of a lot of videogames

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Dan

Yesterday was my last day at Future. Today I am unemployed. In January, I start at Activision. I am stoked.

I’m going on to an amazing opportunity; I have confidence that I am the right person for this job; I am honored to be trusted with something this high profile. But leaving Future and the Bay Area is still bittersweet; I leave a lot of friends, not to mention some unfinished business. The magazine I’ve been working on and screaming about and cursing repeatedly is not quite done and I had hoped to see it all the way through before I had to go. But by the time it ships, I may already be in LA. As soon as I have a permanent address, I am subscribing.

I’ve had a lot of kind words and well wishes and support from both friends and total strangers. We had a special guest on my farewell episode of KOXM and the gang at TalkRadar completely surprised me with a full-on Friar’s Club-style roast. I was honestly touched by both, and not in that inappropriate Chris Antista way. It’s just really a beautiful thing to know that you are valued before you die.

But now I have been moved, I have to actually, you know, move. Kat has taken charge of the move and we’re about 50% there now, with boxes sealed and ready to be loaded onto a truck. But I also realize I can’t (and shouldn’t) take everything. I am selling a few of my coin-ops (Tetris with several other puzzle PCBs is still up for grabs for $400) and I had a crazy portable garage sale for a lot of my old-school games, which the Radar guys were only too happy to attend.

At $10 a system and $1 a game, I moved about half the stuff, some of which went all the way back to my very first reviews (Total Carnage for SNES was the first freebie I ever got in the industry…in 1993). But it honestly felt good to know that selling my Sega Saturn to Brett Elston meant it was going to be USED. I figure it was like modern archaeology to them; they’d heard about things like the Odyssey 2 and Neo-Geo Pocket Color, but here were the artifacts that they could hold in their own hands! So it’s really true about wanting it to go to a good home. I know the Radar guys will enjoy them and turn them into Top 7 lists for many years to come. Everything else that did not sell was donated to charity.

Many other small things were put on the “free table” at work — books, games, toys, lamps, you name it, if it was not necessary to take with us, we passed it on. It was surreal to see many of Kat and my action figures — which had been bringing nobody joy sealed inside Rubbermaid containers in my garage — scattered around the desks of my Future co-workers. Purging this stuff (which I have really enjoyed owning) is good for the soul and good for the aching back.

I’ve had a lot of questions about what happens next and I have some of those answers, but I’ll save those for another post.

Posted in Etc, Games, Geek | 2 Comments

A new job? According to Craigslist…

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Dan

I got a new job. Personally, I thought I’d keep it quiet — you know, the first issue of the magazine hasn’t been printed yet, people have paid in advance, and they haven’t seen anything for it. We are going through a really, really long period of approvals, but my job is basically done — I’ve actually been just sort of on-call for the last two weeks and I’ve moved on to assigning stories for issue 2.

But at the same time, I was also entertaining this other job offer. And it’s something I’m really excited about, but I realized I should not go public with it right away, because I didn’t want to complicate things for the magazine. I figured people who are waiting for their first issue would take my leaving as a lack of confidence, even though, like I said, my work was basically done. I resigned quietly last night, and said I’d be happy to help with the transition and keep my mouth shut for the good of the project.

This morning, before my staff even found out, Future posted my job on Craigslist. (And people noticed — in addition to Twitter, someone asked me in IM before I even knew the position was posted.) So, um, okay — I will not let the door hit me in the ass on the way out!

Here’s the truth: I found custom publishing frustrating as hell. I’d done it before, between GamePro and GamesRadar, and I knew this project would be going back to that, but since it was structured like a more traditional magazine (as opposed to the catalogs and booklets that are the staple of custom pub) I thought things would be better. I was wrong; it’s still not a good fit for me. So when something else came up, I took it seriously.

It was also a really incredible opportunity. When I went to E3 this year, I asked Activision if they needed anybody in community management, thinking maybe I could help out on Guitar Hero from the RedOctane office in nearby Fremont. That didn’t work out, but a few months later, I got a call saying that they were looking for someone to do more than that — start a fresh line of communication to gamers and be a direct line to what’s going on within Activision. You know — blogging, podcasting, video stuff, and several other things that got me really creatively stoked. Ars Technica did a story on this kind of position the same day I handed in my letter of resignation, which felt somehow very right.

I’ve done this kind of stuff on a volunteer basis on other jobs (like GamePro and OXM) because I was genuinely interested in making that connection with our readers. I really do like having discussions in forums; I volunteered to start our Facebook group; I established our Twitter feed; I love podcasting with Ryan. This new position would let me do all that stuff plus some other really cool creative opportunities. So it’s an even dreamier dream job than the dream jobs I’ve already been fortunate enough to hold.

I went through the interview gauntlet over the last few months and talked about specifics, and it felt really right. So when they made the offer, I accepted. I am thrilled. We are moving to LA in December so I can start work in January.

Ironically, as I type this, I’m finishing the last of the bottle of Patron that Paul Curthoys bought me when I left OXM.

Posted in Etc, Games, Geek, WoW | 19 Comments

My 20-year HS reunion

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Dan

I’m not going. Not out of protest or anything. I always said I would go, and I have heard great things about the 20th compared to other years — people have grown up by then, they’re happy to be alive, they remember the good times. I would kind of like to go. But I’ve decided against it for a number of reasons.
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Borderlands

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Dan

No longer in danger of getting freebies through my job, I went for the PC version of Borderlands when Kat showed an interest in playing co-op. Kat is a mouse/WASD person and is not comfortable with console controllers, but in a weird twist, Borderlands is not comfortable with PC interfaces. It’s a clear sign that the industry is building things with 360 and PS3 in mind, then adapting it to the PC audience; the opposite has been true for years. And while I am still proudly platform agnostic — if it’s fun, I’ll play it on anything — I was disappointed that I had to edit the .ini files to do simple things like remove horizontal tearing with vertical sync and change the field of vision, which was awkward but I couldn’t put my finger on why. These should really be in the options menu and I hope they will be after a patch.

That said, this is Kat’s first serious attempt to get good at a shooter. We bought Left 4 Dead on PC and she liked it but never felt comfortable; this was more of a fresh start for both of us, since I hadn’t done any previews or played Borderlands yet. She likes the art style and I do too. I’m playing the sniper class, she’s playing the token female character and trying to learn how to use her phasing power. Funny thing is, she picked up a sniper rifle in the game and now wants to snipe!

So far: good game, could use a little tweaking. The critiques I’ve read seem fair, and I hope a patch will help smooth out the rough edges. Until then, they’re not stopping our fun.

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Kat vs. Plants vs. Zombies

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Dan

When PopCap brought out Plants vs. Zombies, their cute take on tower-defense games, I was hooked like everybody else. Well, everybody else but one person: my wife. I got the PC version, and she played a little bit before grabbing the Mac version for herself. Then she played it a lot and finished the Adventure mode before I did. Then she finished it again. And a third time. Along the way she mastered the zen garden and racked up an insane amount of in-game cash. I regularly look over her shoulder in awe.

For reference, here’s a screen from a fairly typical session of the game. This is what a lot of people who have tried the demo or played the browser version experience.

This is a screen from one of Kat’s random sessions. I happened to look over and then asked her to take a screenshot.

I have since asked her for her advice on how to play.

Posted in Games | 2 Comments

The real Ghostbusters

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Dan

Every year, people ask me if I’m going as a Ghostbuster for Halloween. But I always reply, “Why would I wear my work uniform on the one day I’m supposed to dress up like something else?”

Still, in honor of Halloween, I’ve got some shots that Kat took of me in full Ghostbusters gear. She recently upgraded her photo rig to a lovely Nikon D700 so she wanted to play around. These are a few of the results.

I’ve always thought of Ghostbusters as supernatural janitors. It’s not a pretty job; it’s messy and it’s hard work. So we were trying to tap into that sense of exhaustion, like the scenes you see of firefighters after battling a blaze for three hours. Plus, I was trying to draw on some sadness; this guy sees death everywhere, and doesn’t necessarily want company after a tough slog. He just wants to, well, rest in peace. Even though I couldn’t resist goofing off a bit, I think we got some of that vibe, and I think these are pretty cool shots.

Click on these for larger versions:

Posted in Etc, Geek | 4 Comments

Jury duty

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Dan

I’m there right now. I hate it. My dad got called for a really big murder case when I was a very young kid; I remember how disruptive that trial was for our family. I’ve never felt good about this process since. I always report, but I have never served, and I never want to be chosen. (My orientation lady just said today is an “incredibly unique day” at the courthouse, so I wonder what the hell that means.)

I know a lot of people get excited about it — “You get to perform your civic duty! You get to see the justice system up close! And your case might be ripped from the headlines for an episode of Boston Legal!” But I say, shove it. Here’s why: I’m all about personal responsibility, from saving the earth to saving time in meetings with coworkers — I’m a big believer in taking care of your own shit. And while it’s my responsibility to serve on a jury if called — and I’m here, I didn’t try to get out of that responsibility — I always sit here and think, why am I here? Because, arguably, someone else wasn’t responsible. Someone couldn’t take care of their own shit. Someone hurt someone else or wronged someone else or divorced someone else and couldn’t take responsibility for their actions. So their responsibility becomes my responsibility — they can’t clean up their own mess, so I have to put all the things I’m responsible for on hold and come clean it up for them. That’s fair how?

That’s a serious question — were we talking in person, over lunch, I’m sure some of you would bring up some excellent points to counter my view, so I’m game to hear them.

I know some folks look at jury duty as a good thing — hey, in addition to all that fun TV drama, I get out of work! Maybe that’s great if you hate your job, or you don’t feel like you do anything important at it. But I don’t hate my job, deadlines are constant (and just as mandatory as a jury duty summons), and I’m a central figure with a lot of responsibility on my team. It’s not what I’d call a hardship that requires an exemption, but it does just make things messy. And again, if you take responsibility for your shit in the first place, things don’t have to get messy.

Also, and this ties into the responsibility thing, I almost take this TOO seriously. I know someone’s happiness or sense of justice for their rest of their life may be altered by what I help decide. That scares the living fuck out of me. I don’t take that responsiblity lightly at all, and that makes me uncomfortable. I worry about other people who are like “Yeah, whatever” when they’re called and don’t take it seriously.

I just upgraded my laptop to 4GB and I have two large batteries that will take me for around seven hours. I have Wi-Fi, iPods and, of course, magazines. Now, while I wait and hope to be dismissed so I can get back to being a responsible adult, I believe it is my civic duty to go play Plants vs. Zombies.

Posted in Etc | 6 Comments

The gout update

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Dan

A little health update, since I don’t want to be one of those “oh woe is me, I am sick/ill/crazy” and leave it at that. It’s taken several weeks, but the foot is feeling a lot better. Gout is not the kind of thing that goes away immediately, or even altogether; it’s the kind of thing I’ll have to manage. But I can do a lot to minimize the problems from it, and I’ve made some changes to my diet that, along with some druuuuuuuuuuugs, have helped me over the last few weeks.
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Posted in Etc | 8 Comments

Windows 7

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Dan

I should not be typing this. It should not be possible.

I started messing with PCs in the late 80s; my first OS was DOS 2.11. I’ve used several versions of Windows since then, but I was a Vista-hater; I stayed with XP. I actually chose my laptop primarily because it came with XP Pro while most machines with shipping with Vista. But when I heard about Windows 7, I was pretty excited. I put RC1 on a netbook just to see for myself. Then I preordered three copies of Home Premium at a deep discount (one for Kat’s gaming PC, two for my machines), hopeful that this time, it would be different.

Well…it’s different. I’m writing this on my laptop, which now features Windows 7 on it, from a fresh install replacing XP. Then I installed Win7 on two more machines, including my quad-core main rig. It took me more time to back up my data on these machines than it did to install Windows 7 and see it up and running on all of them.

I was prepared for disaster, and I figured that this would take all weekend. Instead, this was, by far, the easiest PC upgrade I have ever done. Microsoft nailed it.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention a few helpful things. My laptop only had 1GB and it still runs Win 7 just fine; I am upgrading to 4GB next week because I’m a power user d00d and I thought I already had more than a gig, but I was a little surprised at how it handled itself with such low memory. I still recommend 2GB for a minimum. AVG Free works fine for virus protection, and even though I backed everything up, I still forgot a few things. So back everything up and then go through visually and check again.

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